Twenty-four years together, and now the end might be closer than anyone expected. Troy Aikman and Joe Buck have called games together since 2002, but their partnership now faces uncertainty, with ESPN caught in the middle. As whispers of Aikman leaving the network grow louder, Stephen A. Smith has made his stance clear: ESPN should do everything it can to keep one of football’s most recognisable voices.
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Calling Buck and Aikman “A-team,” Smith insisted that no Buck has no equal as a play-by-play voice and that he has admired Aikman just as long. While he acknowledged that ultimately it will be ESPN and ABC to decide their future, he still couldn’t help but hope the A-team shall call this year’s Super Bowl together.
“I sincerely hope that we don’t lose him as a person that’s employed by ESPN,” Smith exclaimed on the Mad Dog Sports Radio show for SiriusXM on Monday, via Awful Announcing. “But if we do lose him, I want to wish him all the happiness in the world if he decides to go elsewhere. Because football must have Troy Aikman’s voice in it, he’s that special of a guy and a football mind, and I sincerely hope that we keep him.”
Smith’s comments come at a pivotal moment for ESPN’s iconic broadcasting duo. Buck has reportedly secured a lucrative six-year contract extension worth between $100 million and $108 million, while Aikman’s future remains shrouded in uncertainty.
His $90 million deal, signed in 2022, is set to expire after this season, leaving the veteran analyst facing a potential crossroads.
Aikman himself has confirmed that he will enter free agency once the season ends, so the possibility of a major shake-up is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
“I’ll broadcast through this season,” Aikman told Sportsradio 96.7 FM/1310 The Ticket (KTCK-AM) on Thursday. “And I’ll be a free agent at the end of the year and kind of see what happens.”
“There’s probably a time and a place for all that to be discussed,” Aikman added. “I don’t know if now is the time. I don’t know that it’s hard to figure out kind of what’s happened.”
A potential split between the two broadcasting stalwarts could deal a significant blow to ESPN, and Smith appears to recognise what is at stake. That is why he has urged the network to do whatever it takes to keep one of its biggest voices.
However, according to The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand, ESPN is waiting until the NFL season concludes before opening discussions with Aikman.
Now in their 25th season as NFL broadcast partners, Buck and Aikman are set to lead ESPN’s Super Bowl coverage on February 14, 2027.
Their broadcast will air across ESPN, ABC, and Disney+, alongside alternative telecasts featuring Pat McAfee on ESPNU, Peyton and Eli Manning on ESPN2, and a stats-driven presentation on NFL Network.
“I’m looking forward to whatever the rest of this season does hold, with the Super Bowl and all that, and where my next landing spot might be,” Aikman shared.
Will ESPN make Aikman an offer to stay, or will he head elsewhere searching for a new home for the first time in 25 years without Buck by his side? The questions are mounting, but answers remain scarce. For now, Aikman appears in no hurry to settle them.